Please clean this painting very carefully, Malcolm asked the woman. "I want to see it clearly." Then Malcolm left the house. Again he walked through the fields. After some time, he sat down and read more and more. He worked very hard. In the afternoon, the weather changed. The sun went behind some black clouds and it became windy. I'll go back to the Judge's House now, thought Malcolm. It's going to rain. On his way back, Malcolm came to the small hotel He decided to go in. He wanted to talk to someone. There was a man sitting in a chair in the sitting-room. The man introduced himself to Malcolm. "Good evening," he said. "I am the doctor in this town. And I know who you are. You are the student who is living in the Judge's House. Are you happy there?" "I am able to study hard in the house replied Malcolm. "That is the most important thing for me. I am studying for my final examinations. And nothing troubles you in the house asked the doctor. "There are hundreds of rats in the house replied Malcolm. "But they do not trouble me very much. I am not afraid of rats. However, there is one enormous rat,' added Malcolm. "It sits on a chair and looks at me with evil eyes. want to kill this big rat. Malcolm told the doctor all about the enormous rat. He described the high-backed chair and the rope of the alarm bell. Does the rat always come down and go up that roper asked the doctor. "Always," replied Malcolm. "Do you know what that rope is?' "It's a very strong and a very soft rope,' replied Malcolm. "But don't know anything more about it.' The doctor looked at Malcolm for a few moments. Then he spoke quietly and slowly. "When the judge was alive, he was very cruel. He condemned many criminals to death. That was the r that the hangman used. The hangman made a noose at the end of the rope. The noose was put over the criminal's head. Then the criminal was hanged by the rope until he was dead. The rope by the fire is the hangman's rope. Malcolm and the doctor talked about the Judge's House for about an hour. Then Malcolm walked back to the house. The weather had now changed completely. It had become cold and a strong wind was blowing. When he was inside the house, Malcolm heard the wind blowing round it. The cleaning woman had lit the fire and Malcolm put on some more wood. He had some supper. Then he went and sat down at the big table. It was time to get back to his studies once again. Before he started reading his books, he looked round the room. He noticed the rope hanging between the high-backed chair and the fireplace. He thought about the doctor's story. This was the rope used by the hangman. Many men had died with this rope round their necks. Malcolm stood up and walked over to the rope. He t in his hands. While he was holding the rope, he felt it move. He looked up and saw the enormous rat. It was climbing slowly down the rope. The rat suddenly saw Malcolm. It turned round and ran quickly up and disappeared into the hole in the painting. All the other rats immediately began running around again, squeaking and scratching. Malcolm picked up the lamp and walked towards the high-backed chair. He stood behind the chair and held the lamp high above his head. He looked at the painting. The cleaning woman had worked hard She had cleaned off all the dust and dirt from the painting. Malcolm was able to see the hole in the corner where the rat disappeared. uddenly Malcolm felt terribly afraid. His face went white. He now saw that it was a painting of a judge in his robes. The judge's was cruel and his eyes were evil. The face eyes of the judge were like the eyes of the enormous rat.